


Peace?

by AMidnightDreary



Series: FrostIron Bingo [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 14:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20155192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMidnightDreary/pseuds/AMidnightDreary
Summary: Five times Tony finds Loki and one time he doesn't need to.





	Peace?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rabentochter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/gifts).
  * Translation into 中文 available: [【霜铁授翻】和解？ peace？](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22209835) by [FloraFangfei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloraFangfei/pseuds/FloraFangfei)

> Heeyy, Sesil! I hope you like this. It was you who came up with the major plotpoints, after all. xD You're awesome!❤
> 
> **Square filled:** N1 - 5+1 (trope)

**1**

Normally it went like this:

Loki would stay out of their hair for some weeks and then, when his absence was already making them be even warier than they already were, he'd stay quiet for some longer. Then he'd come up with an impressive prank that would annoy them a great deal, prompting one of their "battles". It was less battling than annoying them, really; it had been a while since anyone had gotten seriously hurt during one of their fights. Loki thought he might have to break somebody's nose soon, just because. Maybe the dear Captain's - his picture-perfect face could do with a slightly crooked nose. 

Thing was, Loki liked this game they were playing. He liked it because he was the one making the rules and could change them whenever he got bored. And his pranks _ were _ fun. But of course the Avengers didn't share his opinion, of _ course _ they thought his pranks were "endangering the community" and "not even funny" rather than, well, _ very good pranks _ . They had horrible taste, the lot of them. But, fine. They were mortals, and Thor was an oaf. It wasn't their _ fault _ , really, and Loki - used to not being appreciated by pretty much everyone - didn't mind. He didn't _ need _ them to see the quality of his pranks, anyway. He just needed them to be annoyed by them. And also to _ leave him the hel alone _. And that part? Yes, that part of the plan was not working that well at the moment. And he didn't like being confronted with a new aspect of the game - a level he didn't know the rules of.

He didn't even know how they had _ done _ it.

He was lounging around in his apartment after causing some chaos in Quebec (why Quebec, you ask? Well. Why _ not _ Quebec?) that nobody could possibly have linked back to him. It was a lovely afternoon, or at least it looked like it would be one. He got himself some ice cream and was prepared and willing to spend the rest of the day with a good book, when _ suddenly _ a certain group of heroes decided to just. Burst through his front door. Without knocking, and fully armoured. Just like that.

"Well," Loki said without so much at glancing at them since he still had ice cream left and he did _ not _ want it to melt, thank you very much, "that was not very polite now, was it?"

"What is this?" The Captain asked.

Loki raised his head to look at the man, but took his time licking some ice cream off the spoon. "Be a little more specific, please," he said then. "If by 'this' you mean _ this _," he pointed at the bowl in his lap, "then the answer is ice cream. Coconut."

"Coconut," Stark repeated flatly. 

They all already lowered their weapons, which was a great mistake.

"Yes. If, however, by 'this' you mean_ this _ ," Loki indicated the general situation of them being in his living room without _ any _ kind of right or invitation, "I'd like to return the question to you, dear Captain."

There was a very loud crash from outside, followed by some screams.

"Oh," Loki said. "Or maybe you mean that?"

As it turned out, Rogers had not meant that. He also wasn't very pleased with the situation. Finally something he and Loki had in common. 

By now, the Avengers were, as so often, strewn around the streets of New York like lemmings (Loki liked lemmings) that had lost their sense of orientation, and Loki was doing his best to make everything very, very difficult for them.

See, he was rather angry. And all diggers and cranes in the city coming to life and harassing the New Yorkers would have been annoying for the Avengers already if Loki had been in a _ good _ mood. As it was, he was not, and the Avengers didn't have any fun at all.

He stayed away from the beast, because it would hardly answer his questions. Rogers, being the righteous and selfless hero that he was, would probably rather die than tell him anything, and Loki had not the slightest desire to talk to Thor. The woman was too clever. Barton might do - but he mostly seemed busy getting civilians out of harm's way.

Only one left, then.

Loki found Stark sitting on top of one of the highest cranes. He seemed very relaxed, armoured legs dangling in the air, armoured arms resting on the parapet; it looked like he wasn't even _ doing _ anything. But Loki knew him by know, knew his tactics, and several times Stark had gotten something underway that had completely crossed Loki's plans, without ever letting on that he _ was _ doing something. How he did that was a mystery Loki would solve, eventually.

At further thought, Stark might also be too clever.

"Hey, Lokes!" Stark called, waving his arm. His voice was loud enough that even a human could have heard it over the tumult of the battle, probably enhanced by his suit. "Come over here, let's talk!"

Loki, who was standing on a rooftop near the crane, disappeared from there. The blank eyes of Stark's suit looked up at him when he came to stand behind the human, then the face plate was lifted and Stark's face came into sight. He was grinning.

"Thought that you'd come," he said cheerfully, turning forward again. If he minded that he was in a rather vulnerable position with Loki standing behind and over him, he didn't show it. "And up here's better than down there. Too much civilians in the streets still."

"They will be gone soon."

"Look, I don't know if that's meant to be a threat, but you waiting to battle me down there until all the people are safe is not a really villain-y thing."

Loki hummed and reached down, wrapping both of his hands around the suit's neck and lifting him up. Oh, he was heavy like this. The faceplate slid down again at once, so Stark was probably prepared too fight.

"And this?" Loki asked idly.

There was a chuckle to be heard. "You realize I can fly, right? But you're strong, I give you that. That's actually kind of ho - oof, okay, thanks."

Loki had huffed and dropped the mortal back on the crane. He wasn't sure whether to be amused or annoyed - Stark's obvious lack of fear _ was _ amusing, but Loki wasn't really in the mood to play.

"You were waiting for me to come to you?"

"Er, yeah. Sure. It's a bit personal now, isn't it?"

Loki frowned down at him, and after a moment - "Ah. It was you, then."

"Huh?"

"You found my apartment."

Faceplate lifting again, Stark looked up at him. "Wait, are you only just figuring that out? Really? I mean, come on! Do you really think one of the others could do that? I mean, sure, Bruce's amazing at finding radiation stuff and Nat and Clint are ridiculously good trackers, but the protections you had there? Was hard to get through them, and I don't think anyone else would have managed, but - by the way, what was that? Wards or something? Because - "

_ Norns, does he ever stop talking _, Loki thought, and kicked Stark off the crane.

Seconds later, Stark appeared again, now floating in the air. "You missed a perfectly good opportunity to reference _ 300 _ ," he informed Loki. Then, when the god just looked at him blankly, "You know, _ 300? _ Gerard Butler? 'This is Sparta'?"

Loki had planned finding out _ how _ they had done it. Now he found that he actually didn't care.

The civilians were gone, anyway.

**2**

Loki, against all odds, liked being in the supermarket. It was a perfect place to cause some mischief. People were generally already annoyed when they entered, and it was so _ easy _ to prank them. Silly humans. A part of him always wanted to follow them home to see how they would react when they found it that their frozen pizza had turned into a frisbee, but in the end he always left it to his imagination.

Today he wasn't here to annoy people, though. No, he'd come to actually _ buy _ something. He'd done that a few times before, even though he technically didn't need to. He could just order the things he needed or simply magic them into existence, but… well, he might have been a little bored, and going to the supermarket when he'd realized that he was out of chocolate had seemed like a good idea at the time.

He was standing in front of the shelf and trying to decide what he wanted when he realized that no, it had definitely _ not _ been a good idea.

"I'm a fan of these. Cookies 'n' Cream is awesome. Or are you more a Reese's guy?"

Loki stared at the man who had come to stand next to him. Short, hideous clothes, dark sunglasses, a cap that made it even more difficult to see his face.

Tony Stark stared right back at him. After a few seconds, he grabbed some chocolate bars and threw them into his own cart. He opened his mouth again to speak, but Loki didn't give him the chance. He grabbed the human by his collar and pushed him up against the shelf, causing some packages to fall out of it. Stark yelped but didn't try to free himself.

"How did you find me?" Loki demanded, pinning Stark down with a glare that promised doom and eternal suffering.

"I didn't _ find _ you," Stark corrected, speaking quickly. "It was more like a - like an accidental encounter, okay? I was over by the magazines - Clint reads an unhealthy amount of really bad magazines - and you came by but didn't see me, so I just thought I'd go and say -"

"Do you truly expect me to believe that?" Loki hissed, tightening his grip on the smaller man's shirt.

"Uhm. Actually - yes, I do. 'Cause it's the truth. I didn't even look for you, I -"

"What do you want?"

"_ Nothing. _ Well, okay, as I said - tried to say - say hi. And now we said hi. Hi. Do you always slam people against things when they try to talk to you? Or do I get the special treatment?"

Loki took a breath. Then another one. Then he let go of Stark and made a step back.

Stark, eyeing him warily, dropped back on his feet - he'd been forced to stand on tiptoes the whole time - and tugged at his collar. He cleared his throat and looked around the aisle. It was very late in the evening and the place was nearly empty except for them; nobody had seen.

"Why are you even here?" Stark asked. His tone was light and casual, but Loki could tell that he was curious.

"I could ask you the same thing," Loki said, frowning, and approached the shelf again. Stark stepped to the side so Loki could take some chocolates. "Doesn't the great Tony Stark have people who do this sort of thing for him?"

"Doesn't the great Loki have _ magic _ that does this sort of thing for him?" Stark countered, imitating Loki's tone.

"Yes, he does," Loki said, smirking. "But he also enjoys turning groceries into something entirely else." He glanced at the things in Stark's cart, then turned to leave.

"Er. Do I want to know what you did to my stuff?" Stark called after him.

"I don't think so."

"The poptarts are for your brother, you know."

Loki smiled. "Even better."

**3**

When the doorbell rang, Loki very nearly dropped his cup. He did manage to spill some tea over himself, which made him despise the visitor out of principle. 

He vanished the mess with a wave of his hand and set the cup aside, then made his way to the door. He _ never _ got visitors. Nobody had ever knocked on the door, and he had made sure that nobody ever would. Technically. Apparently, his magic had decided to give this one a chance.He would need to have stern words with it later.

When he opened the door, he was almost not surprised.

It was Tony Stark. Because of course it was. He stood there in the hallway and squinted at the device he held in his hands as if he had trouble seeing. One look at him was enough for Loki to tell that the man was not entirely sober.

"I have no qualms about killing humans," Loki informed Stark in lieu of greeting. "Even though you are ridiculously defenseless."

Stark's head snapped up. His eyes were wide and a little glassy, his grin was brilliant. "Oh! Found you!"

Loki raised a brow. "How?"

It shouldn't have been possible. Loki had moved since the last time Stark had tracked down his apartment, and he had also strengthened the wards that protected himself and his home. An intoxicated human should _ not _ have been able to find him.

"Easy!" Stark said brightly, then walked past Loki into the apartment. 

Loki was so Done With This that he didn't even try to stop him. 

"I know where you get your groceries, wasn't hard to find you," Stark explained, slurring the words a little. "I made this - this thing," he shook the device he'd brought, "Set it on finding your magic tingle things. S'awesome."

_ Magic tingle things. _ Loki was certain that the Norns hated him.

He crossed his arms. "You are drunk, Stark."

"Hmm? 'm I? Hadn't noticed. This is _ nice. _ Better than your old one. View's pretty."

Loki stared at him. He needed a moment to realize that the human was talking about the apartment. "Why are you here?"

"Eeeeerrr. Reasons."

Yes, no. This didn't work. 

Loki walked over to Stark, who didn't back away even when the god stopped directly on front of him, and touched his fingers to Stark's temple. Only a thin thread of magic was enough, and Stark was sober again.

He scrunched up his face. "Oh, ouch."

Unimpressed, Loki took a step back again. "Why are you here?"

"Give me a moment, would you," Stark said, rubbing his eyes. "What the - what the fuck did you just do? Was that really necessary? My head is _ exploding. _"

"Sobering up within seconds sometimes comes with unpleasant side effects." For humans, anyway. "Why are you _ here _, Stark?"

Stark groaned. "Because I wanted to know if I _ could _," he muttered, scowling at Loki. "Find you. I was drunk, okay? Sorry for barging in, I didn't - hey! Give that back!"

Loki had snatched the device from Stark's hands to examine it. It was small, barely bigger than a smartphone - maybe it had started out as a smartphone, Loki thought after looking at it for a few seconds. It wasn't something he had seen before, but still looked like a perfectly normal piece of Midgardian technology. Not the slightest hint of magic.

"How does this work?" Loki asked, looking back at Stark again.

Stark opened his mouth - probably to say something snarky - but then he shut it again, frowning. "You know what," he said then. "I've no idea."

Loki stared. "You built it."

"I was drunk!"

"How can anyone be _ that _ drunk?"

"Look, just - just give it back. I won't bother you again, just -" He tried to grab the device, but Loki held it high enough that it was out of Stark's reach. The human glowered. "That's mean, Lokes. And childish."

"Have you met me?" Loki asked, while inwardly repeating _ Lokes _ a few times and thinking _ what in Bor's name…? _"You will tell me how this works. Now."

Stark huffed and crossed his arms. "Why do you even want to know? It's not like -"

"I cannot afford people finding me," Loki interrupted him sharply. "You are - a nuisance, but not more. You and your little friends are not the only enemies I have."

"Oh, come on," Stark said, frowning. "We're hardly enemies at this point. You haven't even hurt anyone in _ ages. _"

"I've been thinking about breaking Rogers' nose lately."

Stark seemed surprised for a second, but then he started to laugh. "Okay. That's fine, I - just let me be there, I'd like to take a pic of his appalled face."

"That can be arranged," Loki said. "But first I want to -"

"Yes. Yes, fine." Stark sighed. "Give it back, then. I'll take a look at it and figure it out, and you can keep it afterwards. You have a drink? I could need one."

Loki gave him a look, then led the way into his living room. "You can have tea."

"Tea," Stark repeated dryly. "Right."

A few days later, there was a package in front of Loki's door. It entailed all of his favorite chocolates - and also some he didn't like - and a note.

_ Peace? _

_ My ancient offer for that drink still stands. _

_ TS _

_ PS: You don't have to move again, btw. I won't tell anyone. _

**4**

A few weeks later, Loki was buried in books. He liked being buried in books, especially because, here on Midgard, it seemed like a socially accepted state to be. It hadn't been on Asgard, at least not for young princes. But here there were dozens of other people, sitting at tables or standing at the shelves, and none of them cared about who Loki was or what he was reading.

He'd taken a book from every shelf in his corner, and would probably spend the whole day here. It was a good way to pass the time, and Midgardian books weren't all that bad. Actually, some of them were surprisingly good.

He didn't even notice when somebody sat down at his table. He did notice when a paper plane hit his nose. 

Loki looked up, prepared to glare at that idiot who had dared to interrupt his reading, only to be confronted with an amused grin and a pair of brown eyes he'd come to like.

"Hey, Lo," Anthony said, still grinning.

"What are you doing here?" Loki asked, feigning annoyance. "I'm reading."

"I can see that. Why are you whispering?"

"Because we are in a library. People get annoyed."

Anthony pressed his lips together, stifling a laugh. "Who are you and what did you do to Loki?" He whispered, making Loki roll his eyes.

"How did you even find me? Did you built another -"

"Nah, don't worry. I just -" Anthony broke himself off, then shrugged. "I was bored. Thought we could hang out, but you weren't home and didn't answer your phone."

"Ah, yes. I turned it off."

"It's fine," Anthony told him, smiling at Loki's apologetic tone. "Finding you asn't even difficult. Of _ course _ you'd be in a library. I checked three before I found you, though."

Loki smiled back, but then turned back to his book. "Congratulations. But I am still reading."

"Yeah, that's fine." A pause, then Anthony added, "Mind if I stay?"

"No," Loki said easily. He glanced up and pushed one of the books in Anthony's direction. "Here. A bit of education will do you good."

Anthony gasped in mock offence. "I'm already awesomely educated, thank you very much."

"Mhh. Saturday you tried to convince me that that comedy show is an important part of American culture."

"It is!"

"It's awful."

"Still!"

Loki smirked to himself. A few seconds passed, then Anthony huffed and opened the book. It was odd, seeing him here. They saw each other every other week now, either in the penthouse or in Loki's apartment, and Loki couldn't deny that they had started being… _ comfortable _ around each other. With each other. They fit, it was as simple as that. Anthony had a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind, he was stoic and clever but also - _ kind. _He was kind and, apparently, that had been exactly what Loki had needed.

Anthony looked up again to make a comment about the book, and Loki found that stopping to read to talk to Anthony was actually no hardship. The company was far more interesting than the books all of a sudden, and Anthony was smiling so brightly that Loki's heart skipped a beat every time he looked at him.

And that? 

That was not good.

**5**

It was loud and dark in the club, and Loki wasn't entirely sure if he liked it. There was a hint of chaos clinging to at all, which was pleasant, but the people in here were annoying and drunk and obtrusive - Loki had already lost count of the men who had tried to offer him a drink. Or tried to touch him in places he did not want to be touched by them. Not that even one of them had succeeded, but it had still started to get on Loki's nerves. He'd retreated to one of the sitting nooks of the club, hoping that the humans would leave him alone.

He didn't really know why he had even come. Anthony probably wouldn't even be here tonight. But Loki _ knew _ that Anthony did come here now and then and that it had been a while since the last time, and Anthony had said something about wanting to go out. So maybe… Maybe.

Rolling his eyes at himself, Loki sipped his drink. This was pathetic. _ He _ was pathetic. He'd been sitting here for two hours already, waiting for a friend who probably wouldn't even come. Or be happy to see him here, for that matter.

A friend.

Odd, wasn't it? Loki had never been particularly good at making friends before, but with Anthony? It had been almost disturbingly easy. But of course Loki wasn't satisfied by that, of course it wasn't _ enough _.

Falling in love had been disturbingly easy, too.

Loki hadn't meant to. As far as he was concerned, love was a dangerous thing that rarely ended well, and he really didn't need that on top of his other worries. And not only being in love, but being in love with a _ human _? And a reckless and wayward one at that?

Yes, Loki. Well done.

Fine, maybe calling it love already was a bit far fetched. It was not more than a quite insistent infatuation, really. But Loki had always tended to being a tad overdramatic, and he knew where it would end, just like he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep it from happening.

He couldn't just _ stop _ seeing Anthony. That was simply not possible.

It was after another hour of people-watching and brooding that Loki was pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.

"So, if we were in Asgard, how would I get you to dance with me?"

Loki looked up just in time to see Anthony sit down on the seat across of him. As always recently, Loki's heart sped up a little at the sight of him - artfully messy hair, brown eyes, a ridiculous shirt. He hadn't known that you could fall in love with such inconsequential things.

Loki smiled at him and set down his drink. "If we were in Asgard?"

"Yup. At a ball or something. Do you guys have balls?"

"Something similar, yes," Loki said, nodding. "Well. For one thing, you wouldn't be able to _ get me _ to dance with you. As a prince, I would be far above you in status."

Anthony's eyes shone even brighter - maybe he was pleased that Loki played along, or maybe it was just the awful light in here playing tricks on Loki. "And that means?"

"That means," Loki repeated, leaning over the table a little, "that you would have to wait for _ me _ to ask _ you. _ It would be a great honor. I rarely ever danced."

Tony, still smirking, glanced at the dance floor of the club.."And probably never like that, huh?"

Loki didn't look at the dancers; Anthony was far more interesting. "Never quite like that, no."

"Want to give it a try?" Anthony asked, meeting Loki's eyes again.

Loki hummed. "Well, we are not in Asgard, are we? I think I could ignore the protocol for once."

"As if you ever gave a shit about the protocol," Anthony teased, chuckling, and stood up. "Come on, then."

He held out his hands.

Loki took it.

And then, just like that, they went and danced.

"Shit, you're _ good _ at this," Anthony said quite some time later. He was out of breath but still laughing, and also clinging to Loki's side.

Loki was grinning widely himself as they stumbled back to the sitting nook from earlier - he'd made sure that it stayed free for them - and he didn't want to let go of Anthony, so he didn't.

"Of course I am," he said, nose buried in Anthony's hair as they laughed. "I'm good at everything."

"Mhh, especially at being arrogant."

"What's it you humans say? Something about pots and kettles."

Snickering, Anthony pulled away just a little, leaning against one of the low sofas. Loki stayed close, because he wanted but also simply because Anthony hadn't yet pushed him away. And Anthony was still laughing, quietly now, chest heaving and eyes bright in the dim, barely there light, and Loki -

Loki wanted to kiss him. 

Actually, Loki was already kissing him.

And _ Anthony was kissing back. _

There was a hand grasping Loki's shirt, another in his hair, both pulling him closer until Loki was pushing Anthony up against the sofa, their bodies flush against each other, the beat of the music still humming in their veins. Anthony tasted like coconut.

As far as kisses went, it was a good one. A perfect one. It ended with them both being stunned and breathless. Loki stared at Anthony out of wide eyes, almost prepared to apologize.

Anthony tightened his hold on Loki's hair and hauled him in for another kiss. Loki melted into it at once; he didn't even have a choice. He didn't want one.

"Let's go to the penthouse," Anthony demanded, his voice low and already rough, breath brushing Loki's lips. "Or back to yours, I don't care, just -"

Loki was already nodding. He kissed Anthony again, then whisked them away.

He left early in the next morning, while Anthony was still asleep.

**+1**

In the beginning, Loki hadn't thought he would ever be really comfortable in the penthouse, let alone like it. There had been a Loki-shaped hole in the floor, after all, and he remembered it all very vividly. But now, when he materialized here as many times before, he found that he wasn't just comfortable here, didn't just like it, he _ loved _it.

It was Anthony's home, after all. 

Only a few seconds passed, then Anthony entered the broad room with pointedly slow steps, eyes already flaring up with anger.

"I'm sorry," Loki said before Anthony could even open his mouth. "I should not have just left like that, forgive me. But I needed time to think, I… I hope you understand."

Anthony had stopped in his tracks and was now blinking in surprise. "Huh," he said after a moment. "I think I've never heard you apologize before."

Loki managed a crooked smile. "Please don't tell anyone. It would ruin my reputation."

"Eh, my lips are sealed."

Nodding, Loki approached the inventor. "Am I forgiven, then?"

"Maybe." Anthony raised a brow. "It _ was _ an asshole-ish move."

"I am sorry. Truly." Loki hesitated, but then he reached out to take Anthony's hands. He brought one of them up to his lips, kissing the knuckles. "I would like to make it up to you, if you'd let me."

Anthony's brow had wandered up to his hairline. "Laying it on a bit thick, hm?"

"Would you like me to stop?"

"No," Anthony said at once, casual. "It's fine. You just go on wooing me, it'll be a nice experience. What with you being so far above me in status and stuff."

Loki had to laugh, but sobered again quickly enough. "I want to court you," he said, swallowing thickly. "Properly."

Anthony blinked. "Court - you mean, what? Date? You want to date me?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay."

Loki stared at him. "_ Okay?" _

Slowly, Anthony started to grin. "Yes, _ okay. _" He laughed. "Lo, you do realize that I've been wanting this from the beginning, right?"

Loki dropped his hands, stunned. "What?"

"Oh my god. You really -" Anthony had to stifle another laugh. "You can't _ not _ have known, come on. Why do you think I kept looking for you? I went _ grocery shopping _ to see you, for heaven's sake."

"You said you hadn't even been looking for me," Loki said, frowning.

"For the God of Lies, you're really bad at spotting them."

"I am not!"

"No? Maybe it was because of my charm, then. I've been told it makes it hard to think a little."

"Oh, do shut up."

"Now, that's no way to make it up to me. I think I -"

Loki put his hand on Anthony's lower back and pulled him close to kiss him. Anthony apparently - thankfully - forgot what he had wanted to say, and it didn't seem like he cared when they broke apart again, looking at each other.

"That's more like it," Anthony whispered, hands coming up to cup Loki's face. "Hey. I'm glad you came. Maybe don't - maybe don't make me track you down so often anymore, okay?"

Loki shook his head and promised, "I'll be right here."

And he was.


End file.
